The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1887-09-29
GMaSTH~E!SH1S?IAsFHI!h1'.
HsEARNs:sz.!
Experience Of a Successful Farmer.


Experience Of Successful Farmer.
| have been thinking for some time
Of writing and giving my experience
with the field, or COW pea, as fertil-
izer; hoping that it might be of some
benefit to those farmers who have new
er tried to enrich their lands by this
mode | see in your issue of the LIST
inst, that Mr.. George Allen, of New
Berne, propounds and | presume in
tends to answer several questions in
regard to "bringing up" lands, and
among others is the plan of sowing
and turning under peas.
[ do not intend to anticipate Mr..
Allen, but suppose that he would not
! object to having the experience of far
| mers in different sections of the State.
Several years ago | sowed a small tri-
angular piece Of land in wheat, where
cotton had been cultivated the four
preceding years with the intention
of trying the pea as fertilizer, as L
saw the land was fast deterioratlng by
continued cultivation in cotton, which
by the way, | am sure impoverishes
land faster than any other crop, if it
is planted on the same piece OF
ground through number of years
! with commercial fertilizers alone. |
made eleven bushels of wheat without
any manure. After the wheat had
been taken off, | had it laid off in
three feet rows and about 10 peas
dropped every two feet, planted in
rows to insure large crop of the pea
or pod as my opinion was that the
principal fertilizing proprieties of the
COW pea is in the pea itself) L run
sweep twice before the peas commenc-
ed vining much. The result was that
I had one of the finest crops Of peas |
have seen and a good quantity of
vines, but not as many of the latter as
if the land had been MANFRED and the
peas sowed. Sometime in October af-
ter the vines had shed the leaves, |
took a two horse pillow and turned all
under. | soon afterwards planted
wheat again, without any fertilizer.
The wheat looked rank and luxuriant
the next Spring and bid fair to make
thirty bushels to the acre-but early
| in the season it took the rust badly
and / only got about Is bushels per
acre. | again seeded to peas, but for
some reason which | now do not re-
collect did not pillow them, but they
made very fair crop and were turn
ed in the following Fall. The next
Spring | planted same land in cotton
and applied about three hundred
pounds of guano per acre. | cultivat-
ed in the usual way. Cotton pickers
being scarce that season did not get
boil picked until it was all open, but
| gathered 1900 pounds to the acre
| had been gathering previous to this
800 and 900 pounds to the acre. The
next season [ planted in cotton again
do not recollect what brand of fer
tilizer | used-but got 1000 per acre
the third season / did not weigh il
separate, but the cotton was far bettel
than where the peas had not beer
sown, Git was part of so acre felc
of the same quality of land, therefore
had a good opportunity to compare.
The ground seemed to be mellow t.
the very row and did not have the
hard crust on top after heavy rair
that this quality OF land-sandy loan
with clay subsoil, usually has.
| have continued the use of peas as s
fertilizer since my experiment al
| above stated in way that has giver
very good results, but not to get tn.
best or full benefit. 1t is as follows
viz: l have planted corn after cotton
the second blowing of corn planted
peas on both sides of row, and in the
middle the last blowing. | then lei
the hogs run on peas after the corr
was gathered, turned under vines IL
early Spring. have concluded thi.
year, on land which has been alter
mated for six years, having three pes
fallows, that the fertility has been in
creased fifty per cent even in the i'm
perfect way last mentioned.
The very best results can be obtain
ed by turning under peas and vines
together after the leaves have faller
off. | neglected to state that small
tract of land was seeded to peas the
same year and manner that have
stated the triangular piece was seeded
in an adjacent field. The peas or pods
| which were ripe in September were
picked and the vines turned under
green. The effect on next years croE
was thought by several gentlemen no
to be as good by at least :: 5 per cent
These two experiments were trieC
purposelv to test it. | am satisfied
that the fertility of lands which ar
adapted to the pea, can be increased
30 per ce..t. by every heavy coating
of pea vines plowed under with poi
and vines without corn crop, ant
from % to 80 per cent. with crop o
corn when the entire surface can b
covered with the vines-I am n,
chemist, but suppose pea vines, be.
sides humus, collects and adds nitro
, gen and carbonic acid. Our soil
nearly all need carbonic acid tina
5 have been cultivated for a long time
,, I am aware that theorists tell us tina
E the air supplies this in sufficient guam
E titles, but [ have grave doubts on thi
point. Swamp mud contains a con
siderable quantity-marble a larg
quantity and is released by being pul
verified and acted on by an acid whic
all lovers of soda water know No,
&c re oo,,IJ ,oloooo Al, f,o,~, a., -,